Are (young) people now forgetting how to drive?
Switzerland has just abolished the so-called "automatic entry" on driving licenses from January 1, 2019. Previously, only drivers who had passed their driving test in a manual vehicle were allowed to drive such vehicles. Anyone who took the test with an automatic vehicle also had to make do with these.
Now this regulation (see news) is changing in Switzerland, other countries will probably follow sooner or later, Germany still has the automatic regulation.
Why the change at all? In everyday traffic, there are fewer and fewer vehicles with manual gearboxes (and clutches), while even super sports cars now rely on DSG and the like. The clutch pedal is slowly but surely becoming obsolete.
Driving schools will no doubt switch to automatic cars in no time at all, because why make life more complicated than necessary for learner drivers? After all, there is already enough to learn and attention is required to the maximum in traffic anyway. Any relief comes in handy. Even starting off on a hill loses its terror with automatic transmission.
The percentage of drivers who will no longer learn to operate the clutch pedal "from scratch" will therefore increase. This is not a disadvantage in a modern car, but what happens when these people want to switch to a classic car? They first have to learn to drive. However, we are already familiar with this problem today if the car comes with an unsynchronized gearbox or still requires sensitive adjustment of the pre- and post-ignition. Pulling a choke lever also requires instruction, like so many things on the old car.
However, the clutch pedal seems to us to be even more central than other special features of historic automobiles. In any case, classic car owners are advised to ensure that their children learn to drive with a clutch and manual gearbox.
